Oh high school, you and your peer pressure have finally arrived. Many times we’ve all sat through D.A.R.E. and other lectures on the harmful effects of drugs and had the facts pounded off at us. For instance, weed increases heart rates by 20 to 100 percent after you smoke it for up to three hours. But hey, that’s only three hours out of your life, right? I mean, seriously, three hours off of how many years you plan on living seems like a fair trade for a fun night. It took until my senior year to actually witness the peer pressure to get high. I lived my first three years of high school in an ignorant bliss. Sure, some may call me stupid for almost reaching adulthood before I’d ever even heard one of my friends telling the dreaded story of actually being put in the situation in which they had ample opportunity for a night of lofty partying. Stupid, though, is what I’d refer to as the people who say yes. Sure, "stupid” may offend some people. But what other word could accurately describe lighting up for a buzz that’ll last for a couple hours while its damage can last a lifetime? I’m sorry, stupid just rolls off the tongue. While this won’t only mess you up for life, it’ll mess up everyone who cares about you enough to ask you to step away from the weed. Can you honestly promise your best friend that listens attentively to every one of your stories that you’ll stop? No, you can’t. As soon as you decide to take that first hit, your new friends are automatically determined. That friend since second grade is no longer invited over every weekend because she doesn’t smoke. Now, the friend that you used to stay up talking to on the phone for hours is the one who immediately kills conversation when she approaches you and your new “friends.” Let me tell you, that friend is not going to stick around for long. Maybe you aren’t at that stage just yet. Maybe you still have the chance to straighten your life out. You won’t, nor will you fix the countless friendships you’re undoubtedly throwing in the trash. They aren’t recyclables. You won’t get them back. Let’s face facts here: your new smoking buddy honestly couldn’t care less about what that kid said to you in the hall today or how you did on that Spanish test. So what’s the perfect solution? Bring your old friends to the next party, right? No. You aren’t Miley Cyrus. You can’t have the best of both worlds. Your old friends may try a hit; they want to stick with you. Sooner or later, however, they’re going to say no. They’re going to walk away from the party, and away from you. Then you, undeniably, will go running to them every time your life comes crashing down, and they’ll help you. They remember the good old days when you didn’t party, and the way you used to be a good friend. You’re willing to help out when you can, but their problems are never really a major concern to you anymore. Nothing is. Your life is starting to become as glazed over as your eyes. Nothing really matters as long as you keep up appearances enough so as to not let your parents find out who you really are. What would your parents, who have always blindly trusted you, really think if they could see you on a Saturday night? What would they truly think of your friends? More importantly, what do your friends think of you now? Not the ones you party with, or smoke with; the ones who are waiting for you to get your act together. You may not know just what they’re thinking when they laugh and joke like nothing’s wrong. You really have no idea. Before, you would have known instantly that they were being fake with you; the funny thing is that now, you don’t really care. Obviously your friends aren’t the only thing you don’t care about. I’m sure, being the responsible teen you insist you are, you know the side effects. You know that the deep wheezing cough you’re now starting to develop will follow you through the next several decades of your now shortening life. Lung cancer? Psh. It’s got nothing on you. Sure, you’re now three times more likely to develop it, but you knew that, right? You know everything. I am, without a doubt, positive that you know that marijuana can actually inhibit your immune cells. Yeah, those are pretty important, you know, fighting off those pesky bacteria infections, tumors, etc. You know, the usual. It’s not like you could die or anything….oh wait. Never mind. Before you take that next hit, stop. Stop and think about those Saturday night sleepovers where the strongest drug you had was rocky road ice cream. No one can stop you from taking that hit. No one but you. My antidrug: my friends. What’s yours?